Yayoi Kusama is a female Japanese contemporary artist. She is one of the world’s most iconic & celebrated artists working today. Her work primarily consisted in sculpture & installation, but she also has been active in painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry, fiction, & other arts. Since #WomensHistory Month is March, reading books about influential women & integrating them with an invitation is truly a powerful way to connect the two. We read the books Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn't Sorry by Fuasto Gilberti and Yayoi Kusama From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki and Ellen Weinstein.
After recently visiting the SFMOMA to see the Infinite Love Exhibit, these four invitations were heavily inspired by the unforgettable universe of luminous color, endless reflections, and circles.
1. Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love: The Infinity Mirror Rooms were room-sized, experiential artworks that transport viewers into dreamlike universes of seemingly endless reflections. To recreate the first one we provided clear acrylic boxes, transparent counter circles , magnetic wands, and invited the children to explore on a light table
2. LOVE IS CALLING: The second infinity mirror room is darkened, mirrored room illuminated by inflatable forms that extend from the floor and ceiling, gradually changing colors. We invited the children to paint the sculptures followed by covering them in dots.
3. Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love in My Heart: To recreate her sculpture we invited the children to paint white pumpkins with yellow paint and cover them in black dots.
“Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood; they speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art.”
4. Mushrooms: Her psychedelic mushrooms series inspired this loose parts invitation. We provided wooden mushrooms and flat marbles. The children were invited to decorate and recreate their own versions of Yayoi's art on an acrylic mirror.
“Dots are symbols of the world, the cosmos. The Earth is a dot, the moon, sun, the stars are all made up of dots. You and me, we are dots.”— Yayoi Kusama
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